Finally--Up Close. . .

Ever since moving to Geneva I have looked across the lake at Mont Blanc in the far distance whenever it decided to show itself. Now I have been able to see it's majesty and grandeur from a much closer perspective. This is the tallest mountain in western Europe and is taller than Mt. Whitney in the United States. Maybe sometime this summer we will take the tram up as far as it goes on the Mountain. Even in the summer it can be really cold especially if the wind is strong.

This is a view of Mont Blanc from a distance as we were driving to Chamonix.
View of old town with the Annecy castle in the background.
Tulips are in bloom everywhere. The towns here are big into planting flowers. All winter I looked at the signs in the empty flower beds of Geneva which asked people not to step in them because the tulips had been planted.
When we drove into the town of Annecy early Saturday morning the market was set up . It was an extensive market, going on for blocks and blocks with everything from clothing to food. Choosing the right cheese was difficult with so much from which to choose.
Cheese shop at the Saturday Market in town.
Steve and Karen on bridge in Annecy. The building behind and to the left of Steve is the old prison.
View from Annecy across the lake
Old town in Annecy, France. This town is about 45 minutes from Geneva. It is a very picturesque town with views in all directions. We visited here the same weekend that we went to Castle Chillon which was on last week's blog. There were enough pictures from last week to create several blogs.

Fascinating Chillon

It's been a while since I last posted a blog. I spent two weeks in Pinehurst and two days after coming back to Geneva we had a visitor, cousin Karen from California. What a treat to be able to take someone to the wonderful sights and share the experience we are having here. We went to Chillon on Friday. Chillon is a few kilometers past the town of Montreaux (home of a great summer jazz festival). The castle dates from the 1100's and has been beautifully repaired and restored. Some of the inside wall painting is original. The House of Savoy occupied the castle and used its ideal location to be able to see anyone coming into the area. They were big on levying taxes and didn't want any traders to get by without paying. The Savoyards occupied the castle until the 1500's when the Bernese took over. Detailed records had been kept of every aspect of life in the castle and the Savoyards took all the records back to Italy with them. The Savoyards are the same which attacked Geveva unsuccessfully in 1603. Having these few facts now when I see the word Savoise as it refers to a type of cuisine, it means something. We really hope a few more of you will jump on the visitor bandwagon. Our first guest said that she would call the Michelin travel guide and recommend us for a four star out of five rating. I think having to share a bathroom had something to do with the deduction of a star.

Love to all
Mary
Interesting chimney vent. This shot illustrates how the castle sits right on the water.
This is the fireplace in the large dining hall of the castle. They would roast whole animals such as wild boar or deer on the spit. The chevron design on the walls is painted on and is the ancient equivalent of wall paper. That red and white chevron design is found all over Switzerland.
If you click on the picture you will see me and Karen in the tower window. Steve's cousin Karen has been our first house guest and we had a great time going to see wonderful places.
The castle sits on a small rock island at the edge of Lac Leman. This is the same lake that Geneva sits next to only at the far end of the lake which is 45 miles long.
A view from one of the castle towers. The mountains are on the right and the lake on the left.